Mowing pastures - when?

[bathsheba8542]

When do you mow?

I have three pastures not being used; two are mowed regularly, one has super tall grass that has just started going to seed. I’d like to start using the pasture that has not been cut, and will mow it before I turn horses out on it. One question is how long should I let seed heads form before I mow? I mean, is there any value in waiting for it to self-seed?

Also, I’d rather not have to mow the other two if there is benefit in letting the grass grow (it never gets cut below 4 inches).

My horses are super easy keepers and have not been out on the rich pasture I have; they are currently relegated and resigned to a scrubby field with little grass. Moving forward, any turnout on other fields will be strictly managed.

[goodhors]

Mow anything taller than 5 inches. I have not found any benefit to letting seeds develop, plus the grass plant will go dormant after seed production if allowed to dry. Tall grass has no food value as the long stems dry, might irritate eyes as horses try to graze new growth at ground level. Around here, Ticks like tall grass to get on animals as they brush by. Shorter grass does not allow that oportunity to Ticks.

Mow NOW!! Grasses want to produce seed, reproducing is their goal in life! Cutting grass leaves keeps growth “coming along” as plant keeps trying to get big enough to set seed. The plants also develop a much stronger root system, not all growth is in the leaves when you keep them mowed.

I mow no lower than 5 inches, try not to let grasses get over 8 inches before mowing again. You take off less leaf at one time, causing less stress to the plant after mowing. Sounds silly, but removing a lot of leaf at once shocks the plant, loses food production surface, so plants take a longer time to recover, get back to growing. Only taking off a third or less length each mowing, does not cause plant stress. I don’t mow during drought times.

I would severely limit horse grazing time in moving from scraggly field to more lush grazing fields. Having SO MUCH lush grass at once could cause problems, make them sick. You would be amazed at the quantity they consume in even only a half hour!! Maybe start with a half hour on the good stuff after mowing it, then put them back in scraggly field for daily turn out. After a few days, 3-4, give them another 10 minutes on good stuff for the 3-4 days. Adding time every few days over 3-4 weeks should let them transition without problems. Sounds like overkill, but easier than dealing with colic or laminitus!

Maybe they got a quick transition with no problems in other years. The past transition history does not mean they will be fine THIS year. Seems with age, many horses need to be more carefully handled during changes in grazing, new feeds, getting vaccination timing spread out. Need lots more time to adjust safely than when younger.

Mow the scraggly field even if not very tall, to get growth even, shorten the weeds. Horses want to graze new growth, not the really long, tough stems and leaves.

[Tarlo_Farm]

If you don’t need the tall grass field - the one about to drop seed, I’d let that one go and at least try to get reseeded. The grass has already expended energy to produce the seed, may as well use them. Mow the others before they produce seed. And “lush” grass may be fine if your soil is sandy/loamy. Short spring grass in rich topsoil fields can have loads of sugars. Beware in early spring. Since horses don’t graze all grasses equally, I drag and mow each field (about two acres each, three horses), every time I move the horses to a new pasture.

[B-burg_Dressage]

I personally mow in early June and August. I also use rotational grazing to manage the height, but as we all know, horses like to overgraze their favorite parts and leave others to grow unchecked.

6" is ideal. Cool season grasses have a 21 day growing cycle in the spring and fall–more like 28 days in the peak of summer. So my boys get moved from one pasture to the other every month or so to keep the growth happy. Then I come through to mow anything they’ve neglected to eat.

Remember, if the grass is seeding out, so are the weeds. And the weeds will eventually win over your grass if left unchecked.

[back_in_the_saddle1]

I have my pasture divided into 4 sections that we rotate through. We move them to a new section every 7-10 days, so each section gets mowed about once a month. We have really nice grass and very few weeds doing it this way. I also like to overseed in the fall and do a soil test to see what nutrients are needed.

[goodhors]

I still recommend mowing the tall seedy stalks. Grasses do not really reseed well when left to head out. There is really very little in new growth from those seeds. You do much better with preparing the ground and spreading purchased seed at the correct planting time. As mentioned, horses do not graze that old stuff, it has few to no calories, is tough to chew. The grass plant production almost stops growth after setting seed, nothing to graze. While the plant HAS expended energy to grow the long leaves and stalks, mowing them returns any nutrients, fiber organic matter, to the soil for the grass plants to use again. Regular mowing over the summer season is as beneficial in nutrient return to the soil, as a free application of fertilizer would be!

There is a lot of forage research being done now, because it is cheaper, healthier for the animals, as a feed product. However, almost all forage plans involve rotational grazing that is mowed to keep it at maximum production. It is not ever let to go to seed until fall, as ground protection. Mow high, not less than 5 inches, and mow often when grass reaches the 8-10 inch height, is the recommended motto from Michigan State University now. They do a tremendous amount of forage and grass studies to increase production, keep fields producing well. They share that research with us.

Not sure where OP is located, compared to Michigan. Certainly Texas would not manage pastures like Michigan. We usually get enough rain here to keep pastures quite productive. I never let horses stay on a pasture over a 10 day period. That lets weeds get going, ungrazed old leaves get too long and tough. Usually change them here about every 7 days, immediately mow and drag that pasture. I do not want to see seed stalks until after Labor Day, which is when I quit mowing to prepare pastures for winter with long grass lengths.